Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Need a dessert to bring to your 4th of July party this weekend?  Make these!  I figured that these would be good since they're a combination of cheesecake and chocolate chip cookie dough, and I was right.  These were incredible!  Seriously, you need to make these.  You may want to go for a little jog after eating them, but trust me - they're worth the calories.

I came across this recipe on this really great cooking blog, Beantown Baker, and decided I had to make it right away.  It's a great recipe to make ahead of time for a party.  It's a little more time consuming than normal cookie bars since there are 3 different layers (graham cracker crust, cheesecake, and chocolate chip cookie dough), but this recipe is very easy to follow.  Now I just need to make sure I have the self control not to eat the rest of these out of the refrigerator today.

Ingredients:

Crust -
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 Tbsp butter, melted
2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Cookie Dough-
5 Tbsp butter, room temp.
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Cheesecake Filling-
10 oz. cream cheese, room temp.
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325.

For the crust-
Grease a 8x8 pan with butter, line pan with parchment paper and butter the paper, leaving enough to extend over the sides (lining with parchment paper makes this so much easier to get out of the pan and slice...if you want these to look pretty, definitely don't skip this step).  Crush graham crackers into crumbs to make 1 & 1/2 cups.  Add to butter and stir until crumbs are moistened.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Press crust mixture into bottom of pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool.

For cookie dough-
Using mixer and the paddle attachment, mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth.  Adjust mixer speed to low and add flour.  Mix just until incorporated.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Set aside.

For cheesecake-
Using mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended.  Pour batter into cooled, baked crust.  Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls over the top of the filling.

Bake about 30 minutes, or until set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Place in the refrigerator to chill for several hours before slicing into squares (I cut mine into 16 squares).